Home/UFC

via Imago

via Imago

UFC veteran Marvin Vettori is one of the toughest fighters to ever enter the octagon. ‘The Italian Dream’ is one of the finest middleweight contenders in the promotion, and he sits at #2 UFC’s middleweight rankings as of October 2021.

He jumped three spots after his huge victory over Paulo Costa at UFC Vegas 41. The fight took place at light heavyweight as ‘Borrachinha’ revealed he couldn’t make weight. However, because of the manner in which he controlled Costa throughout the bout, he made it appear as though he genuinely belonged there.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

After the big win, Vettori shared his thoughts in an interview with ESPN MMA, revealing that he initially sensed he would get signs of weakness from his opponent.

READ MORE: 5 Things You Need to Know About Marvin Vettori

“There was a little of weirdness on him,” said Vettori. “A lot of times I’m trying to see where my opponent is at. But this time, I felt like I had something in my mind where like he would give out a lot of signs of weakness. But it felt fake to me. I’m like, I cannot rely on that because he’ll have something. Like I could sense a lot of weakness from him. A lot of like, he was a little bit weird from his side, the way he was acting. He wasn’t the same Paulo Costa of many other fight. But I could feel I could not rely on that in a sense.”

What’s next for Marvin Vettori?

Vettori is expected to face someone ranked higher than him following a spectacular performance over Paulo Costa. The ‘Italian Dream’ entered the octagon with a substantial size disadvantage and established his dominance over the Brazilian.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

via Imago

Vettori could face the winner of Jared Cannonier vs Derek Brunson as both of them are closer to him in the rankings. A trilogy bout with UFC champion Israel Adesanya could also be possible for him.

Unfortunately, that is not what is next for him, as ‘The Last Stylebender’ is now set to take on Robert Whittaker. Also, the fact that he is 0-2 against the champion could scupper that fight unless the duo absolutely wipes out everyone else over the next year.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

WATCH THIS STORY: Richest Promoters in Combat Sports History: Bob Arum, Don King, Dana White, and Six More

Who do you think Marvin Vettori will return against? Let us know in the comments section below.